The video cassette recorder (VCR) has added significantly to the usefulness of the home television set. Important or exceptionally good programs may be recorded to be viewed again. Programs appearing at times that are inconvenient for viewing may be recorded for playback at a better time. Recorded movies or other materials, educational or entertaining, may be rented or borrowed for viewing at home. (As used in the remainder of this specification, the term "program" encompasses movies and other types of video materials, whether broadcast from a TV station or another source.)
The typical VCR has its own tuner-receiver and a video-recorder. It can receive and record a program from one channel while the television set is being employed to view a program on another channel. Programs are recorded on magnetic tape. The tape is then played back and viewed on the television set. Features commonly included in the VCR are capabilities for advancing the tape forward or backward at a high speed, stopping motion at any frame to hold the image, or simply playing back the recording at normal speed.
Desirable features that are not normally available in a VCR are capabilities for copying recorded programs from one tape or alternative storage medium to a similar or dissimilar storage medium, editing recorded programs and high speed recording. Another desirable but currently unavailable feature is the capability for high speed, high quality transmission and reception by optical fiber using the VCR.